Paintball lures in all ages

Local adults and youth indulge in safe recreational shooting

A Las Vegas-based paintball team recently captured the crown of a national tournament at Sportcenter Paintball field in Las Vegas, located at what was formerly the All-American Sports Park.

In January, aspiring paintball players of all skill levels, ages 10 and older, can join leagues at the two new, half-acre fields located at the complex at 121 East Sunset Road, near Las Vegas Boulevard.

Leagues are slated to start Jan. 7, with a newcomer tournament -- for those without any prior tournament experience -- scheduled for Jan. 10.

Sportcenter Paintball owner Bill Allen, who has been involved in paintball for more than 13 years, said it's a fun, exciting and safe activity for people of all ages and skill levels, and perfect for corporate team-building.

"Paintball itself is a very, very good team-building sport. It requires you to work with others in order to survive in the game," he said. "It forces people to communicate with each other, even strangers, because if you don't, you'll get shot. If you go out there, with 20 people on each side, and try to be a one-man army, you're going to get shot.

"You've got to work together, and a lot of corporations look at paint ball as a team-building sport."

Allen likens paintball to a child's game of cowboys and Indians, or laser tag, only better.

"Not only is it like playing cowboys and Indians when you were little, but there's no guessing who got who," he said. "When you've got a big pink splatter on your goggles, there's no guessing who got hit. It's a step above laser tag, because there's no guessing when or where you got hit.

"Paintball is a game of tag. You're marking a person. That's why they call don't call them guns, they call them markers."

Allen said getting marked in paint ball does sting, and could leave a bruise, but it's safer than playing a game of tennis, according to a recent report by the U.S. government, Allen said.

"Paintball has the least amount of injuries of any other sport played in the U.S. and abroad. It's on the bottom, under tennis. Ninety percent of people play in organized parks, with referees, and it's extremely safe," he said. "Protective headgear is required and you have a full mask and goggles, which protects your face and head and ears.

"It can hurt and it can leave bruises on you, but it stings a little while and goes away. It's like taking a rubber band and snapping it on your arm. You usually get shot on your equipment -- elbow pads, knee pads, cleats, helmet or gun."

Alyshea Monroe, a seventh grader at Greenspun Middle School, competed in the recent Pan Am Circuit Paintball Tournament and said she's never been hurt playing the game.

"I've never been hurt by a paintball. There's an initial sting, but it goes away," said Monroe, a former Nevada state champion in tae kwon do. "I have so much fun with it. It gets your adrenaline going and it's just a very cool sport.

"You get a lot of exercise, too. You're running, jumping, sliding and crawling."

Allen, who has plans to build two more fields, agreed the sport gets the adrenaline pumping.

"Another good thing about it is kids get to get their frustrations out," he said. "It's very much an adrenaline rush, a major adrenaline rush."

Most tournament players wear as much padding as possible, while most recreational players show up in T-shirts, cargo pants and tennis shoes.

While tournament games are timed, from five to seven minutes, with teams playing 3-on-3 or 5-on-5, most recreational games don't feature time limits and teams can be made up any amount of players.

The Sportcenter Paintball fields are 100 feet wide by 200 feet long and teams usually compete to capture a flag in the middle of the field.

Teams earn a certain amount of points for pulling the flag, for hanging the flag and for the amount of team members who survive. When players get marked, they're out.

It costs $20 to register to play, which includes a mask, goggles and gun, and additional money for paint: $50 for a case of 2,000 rounds.

Some tournaments allow unlimited paint, while others restrict players to a certain amount, like 200 rounds in a hopper, although some hoppers are capable of feeding more than 20 balls a second and some guns are capable of shooting faster than that, Allen said.

"But your finger's not capable of doing it," he said.

Indeed, paintballs can be fired as fast as fingers can pull the trigger.

"The guns are amazingly fast. The speed and accuracy of the guns have really evolved, making the sport more competitive than ever," said Bart Monroe, Alyshea's father and head coach of Team LTZ (ltzpaintball.com), whose local Young Guns squad, of ages 15 and younger, won the recent Pan Am event.

Allen said most of the paints used easily wash off of skin and clothes.

"Most of the paints are soap-based and come in a gelatin capsule, like any vitamin you take," he said. "Some of the colors stain the skin, but once you take a shower it goes away, and most of the new paints wash out of your clothes."

Alyshea Monroe played on a five-man team that finished second in a field of 40 squads at the Pan Am tournament, which made its season-ending stop in Las Vegas. Others on the squad included Roger Farmer, Steve Avina, Shawn Moe, Mike Neuman and Wade Rice, with Moe attending Silverado High School, Neuman from Las Vegas and Rice from Coronado.

Coronado's Nick Martin, Adam Ellis and Rob Hasson all played on another five-man team that placed sixth.

Team LTZ's Young Guns national champions featured Brennan Farmer of Foothill, Tyson Fishback of Bishop Gorman and Brandon Staker of Coronado, with Doug Sinclair of Miller Middle School an alternate.

Hundreds of teams from across the country competed in the recent event. Bart Monroe formed the team after Alyshea showed interest in the sport.

"It's something I've always liked to play, but something I never imagined she'd want to play," he said. "When I knew she really liked it and it was something she'd stay focused in, I formed a team and joined a local league."

Those interested in the paintball leagues can call Allen at 289-3851 or 278-1538. A Division I college tournament is also scheduled at the complex Feb. 21.

Batting cages and go-carts are also open at Sportcenter, Wednesdays through Sundays, with the main building -- which features a six-station rock climbing wall, an arena, bar, restaurant and more -- available for parties and special functions.

The paintball fields are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, but Allen plans to expand the hours for leagues and will open them any day of the week for private parties.


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